Southwest Mason Jar Salad With Creamy Avocado Vinaigrette

My favorite time of year is coming! I really, really loathe Winter and I am so excited to crawl out into the Spring and sunshine with amazing Spring detox recipes to help you clean up your Winter ways and get into that cute little bikini this summer! I absolutely love mason jar salad for a few reasons. First and foremost, they look really cute. Who doesn’t want to eat out of a mason jar? It makes eating fun and it’s the perfect size for your lunch. It’s also a great way to prep meals in advance without them going bad.

I am not a fan of plastic tupperware because of all of the yuck-o chemicals that lurk inside them like BPA and BPS among other chemicals. Whether or not they make it into my food is something I will probably never know 100%, but I would rather go with glass to ensure that my food is staying pure and toxin-free. I use12 oz. Ball Mason Jars for this recipe, so if you want to go grab yourself some mason jars, head over to Amazon through that link and stock up! They are so great for dozens of things around the kitchen and beyond. I use them for storing homemade dressings, nut milks, juices, sauces and so much more.

Now, back to my Southwest salad in a mason jar! I chose a really vitamin and mineral dense salad to share with you because I know you will love it and it will fill you up. Inside starts out with baby spinach. I always choose spinach over iceberg lettuce because iceberg lettuce is mostly water. With spinach, you are getting more potassium, vitamin K and some carotenoids. I also add in organic cooked corn, black beans, red onion and avocado. I use the Vidalia Chop Wizardto dice all of my vegetables and onions. (Especially because my ears tear up and sting horribly when cutting onions!!)

Avocados are jam packed with healthy fats, fiber, and vitamin K. Avocados also help the body to absorb two key antioxidants—lycopene and beta-carotene. Absorption is so important to make sure you are actually GETTING all of the vitamins and minerals you are consuming. Since avocados are so amazing I am also going to show you how to make a super easy, creamy avocado dressing to go with the salad. If you are looking for the perfect, glass dressing container, check this out!

Place a small to medium pot on the stove and fill it with no more than 1 or 2 inches of water. Bring the water to a rolling boil.

It's important not to put enough water in the pot to completely cover the corn.

Add the frozen corn, keep the corn moving by stirring it or turning and rearranging it as it cooks.

Peel and dice the avocado and dice the onions. I use the Chop Wizard for easy chopping!

Once corn is fully cooked you can drain and add baby spinach, onions, corn, black beans and peeled and diced avocado to a mason jar. You can add the dressing at the time of preparing or wait until later so your spinach doesn't wilt.

Notes

* Please disregard nutritional information on the bottom of this recipe, it is not correct!

By Naturally Nicole

beta

calories

2734

fat

252g

protein

32g

carbs

116g

more

Naturally Nicole http://naturallynicole.com/

How Are You Getting Your Protein?

I also want to address protein with you all for a minute. Notice that I didn’t add any chicken in this salad, when I easily could have. Overwhelming research aligns with the fact that a plant-based diet with very minimal or no animal protein is the key to optimal long-term health and nutrition. With this being said, a lot of people ask me where they would get their protein if they didn’t have meats like chicken and beef.

First off, this is a huge misnomer. Protein from animal protein is fine and dandy, but it is widely found in other vegetarian options in the same, or even higher amounts. In this mason jar salad, the black beans alone actually give you more protein than chicken would. Black beans will give you about 39g of protein per 1 cup of beans. Chopped or diced chicken would give you 38g of protein per 1 cup of beans. Who would’ve thought!?

These salads are great on-the-go and the mason jar storage is great for meal prepping a few salads at once. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

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Hi, I’m Nicole!

I'm a mama of two and a certified Holistic Nutritionist and Health Coach. I am passionate about everything that nature provides us, and have made it my mission to share what truly invigorates and heals our bodies. It's time to OWN our health, not be a victim to what ails us!! Read More…